There are a number of reasons why it may be desirable to produce materials, particularly woven or knit materials, (hereinafter “woven materials”) with incorporated particulate solids. The particulate solid may, depending on its nature, impart desirable chemical or physical properties to the woven material which may find use in a number of commercial applications. For example, it may be desirable to provide a woven material with an incorporated particulate solid having odor-adsorbing properties. Such a woven material could be particularly useful in garment manufacture for the purpose of adsorbing unpleasant odors caused by sweat, bodily emissions, the surrounding environment, or odors inherent in or caused by the fabric itself. One such particulate solid having odor-adsorbing properties is activated carbon. Other possible uses include, but are not limited to, incorporation of particulate solids imparting fire retardance, improved moisture management, improved UV absorption, antibacterial, antifungal or antimicrobial features to the resulting material. Such garments may be desirable for use in, for example, active clothing, active wear or sporting wear and/or other uses in which, for example, the wearer seeks to prevent his or her odor from being detected. Other possible uses may include combinations of any of the above.
The use of a woven material, as opposed to a non-woven material, is preferred because of the inherent advantageous wearability, comfort and style characteristics of woven materials in comparison to non-woven materials. Non-woven materials typically lack the stretchability and breathability of woven materials, and are often less comfortable than woven materials. Consequently, uses of non-woven materials in clothing are more limited than uses of woven materials.
Despite many known methods of impregnating non-woven materials with particulate solids, none has been successfully applied to produce a woven material with incorporated particulate solids, or to produce such a woven material suitable for garment manufacture.
These methods have the disadvantage of either not being applicable to woven materials or not providing a satisfactory woven material. More particularly, methods for impregnating non-woven materials with particulate solids have not been successfully used with woven materials for the following reasons.
First, many non-woven methods, such as liquid dispersion or suspension methods, result in encapsulation and consequent deactivation of the particulate solid. Such processes would have the same disadvantages if practiced on woven materials.
Second, methods involving tackifying or plasticizing a non-woven surface to facilitate impregnation with particulate solids result in fabrics that take on the properties of the binder and particulate solid rather than the fabric. Such processes would have the same disadvantages if practiced on woven materials. Furthermore, tackifying or plasticizing a woven material would ruin the woven nature of the fabric, resulting in an undesirable material.
Third, methods involving impregnating particulate solids dispersed or suspended in a gas stream into the pores of a non-woven material were believed to be inoperable with materials, such as woven materials, that lack the pore structure in non-woven materials.
An alternative to impregnating a woven material with a particulate solid is to form a laminate of the particulate solid between two sheets of woven cloth. In one method, a particulate solid is applied to one of the woven sheets as a free flowing powder before the two woven sheets are laminated. This method, however, does not firmly bind the particulate solid to the woven sheets. Consequently, the particulate solid can shake out of the laminate during, for example, normal washing of the material. Furthermore, this method can only be applied in cases where the outer woven sheets have a much smaller open space in their weave than the mean particle size of the particulate solid. As a result, this method typically requires the use of granular materials rather than powders.
Therefore, there is a need for a woven material with an incorporated particulate solid and for a method capable of incorporating a particulate solid into a woven material without deactivating the particulate solid, causing the woven material to take on the characteristics of the particulate solid, or causing the woven material to become non-woven in nature.